Thomas

I got him when he was 5,and he was way too much for me to handle.so I asked my senior instructor for lessons so that she could help me.i used to be so nervous when riding him,and he always used to cut the track off,go around with his head like a girafe,my instructor called him the girafe,because his head used to be so high.
When I started to jump him he used to look at the jumps as if they were the scariest thing and put his head right down to the ground,and bolt off after the jump.
Now he will jump anything and wont put his head down to look at the jump.but if he doesnt like anything he will back of the jump,that is still something we are working on,and all I need to do is kick him on.

The thing is he really leans on my left rein,i do equal amount of work on both reins,and have my right rein shorter,because he makes it go really baggy.it really annoys me,because the left rein used to be his good rein.has anyone got any suggestions?

Also all of you dressage people out there,do you work your horse into an outline,or do you ask him as soon as you start riding?i work Thomas into an outline,because he goes nicer,and engages his hind quarters better,and if I ask him for an outline which he can do ok (ish) his head just comes back up again.
Sorry this post is so long.

the thing is he really leans on my left rein,i do equal amount of work on both reins,and have my right rein shorter,because he makes it go really baggy.it really annoys me,because the left rein used to be his good rein.has anyone got any suggestions?

Why give him the support? As long as you tighten and continue to support him while he leans, he will constantly lean. Are you comfortable with a whip or crop? I suggest a whip if your leg positioning is not absolutely perfect. From my understanding, he is leaning on your inside leg, making you have to pull the outside rein to keep him on the rail, correct? When he does this, give completely and suddenly with your outside rein while applying pressure with your inside leg. If he ignores this pressure, reinforce your leg with the whip. If you give with your outside rein, he has nothing to lean on. He may drift inward on the circle. Continue your outside rein release and give leg pressure/whip until he moves away from your leg. You can keep very light contact with your inside rein, but don't make the mistake of too much contact, he may mistake this for a signal to drift inward.
See how he reacts to this and keep us updated.

Quote:

also all of you dressage people out there,do you work your horse into an outline,or do you ask him as soon as you start riding?i work Thomas into an outline,because he goes nicer,and engages his hind quarters better,and if I ask him for an outline which he can do ok (ish) his head just comes back up again.
Sorry this post is so long.

Never force your horse's head into frame. Working them into frame and doing what you are already doing is perfect. Eventually, he will learn to immediately adapt an outline.

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